The bedroom is an area of the house most closely associated with relaxation and rest.
Have we finally found a room without numeracy?
The message of these workshops is that maths is always present, even in the bedroom. Let us take a look at a few examples.
The main function of most bedrooms is to provide a safe and comfy place for us to sleep.
It is recommended that we try to get approximately eight hours of sleep a night.
This is another example of time-management.
If you need to be up for a certain time and you want to get the right amount of sleep, what time do you need to go to bed?
At some point in your lives, you will find yourselves shopping for bedding. What size is your bed?
Thankfully there are standard bed sizes and most bedding is sold in these sizes. However, if you're more of a blanket person, you will need to know the size in metres and centimetres.
A different numeracy issue is faced by duvet users - Tog ratings
What is a Tog?
Duvets come in standard bed sizes but also with a tog value. Tog stands for Thermal Overall Grade; this means it is a measure of how well the duvet holds heat. The higher the tog rating, the warmer the bedding.
As people tend to store their clothes or get dressed in the bedroom, we decided to add this section here.
You may have already guessed the main numeracy involved with clothes - sizes
For children these are normally straight forward, by selecting items for their age range.
As you get older though, sizes of clothes become more complicated. You will need to know or be able to measure various lengths, heights and widths of the body.
Another application of numeracy when it comes to our wardrobes is working out how many different outfits you can put together without repetition - this is a real-world application of combinatorics
The image above shows that having 3 different tops and 4 different bottoms can produce 12 different outfits.
Have we missed something?
If yes, then please let us know by e-mailing nar25@aber.ac.uk.